Golf club heads take various forms, for example a wood, a hybrid, an iron, a wedge, or a putter. Various types of golf club heads can differ in club head materials to maintain durability and manufacturability, as well as club head shape, design, and dimensions to achieve different performance characteristics.
Currently, various materials are used to manufacture golf club heads. Material selection for golf club heads is based on many factors, including manufacturability and durability. Typically, material yield strength is heavily considered in material selection of golf club heads to ensure the club heads have enough durability to prevent failure. Further, club head designs (e.g. club head shape and dimensions) are used to optimize performance characteristics (e.g. ball speed and club head forgiveness). Currently in the golf industry, materials are not developed or selected to achieve specific performance characteristics. Rather, performance characteristics are achieved through club head design, and materials are selected based on strength and manufacturability for a given design.
There is a need in the art for the ability to analyze, select, and/or develop materials for golf club heads to improve specific performance characteristics (such as ball speed and club head forgiveness) independent of club head design, while maintaining club head durability, such that golf club heads can be developed with performance characteristics optimized to a greater degree than can be accomplished by design alone.
Other aspects of the disclosure will become apparent by consideration of the detailed description and accompanying drawings.
For simplicity and clarity of illustration, the drawing figures illustrate the general manner of construction, and descriptions and details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present disclosure. Additionally, elements in the drawing figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. The same reference numerals in different figures denote the same elements.